Elon Musk’s Boring Company will build a 34-mile tunnel network underneath Las Vegas

The Boring Company’s underground transportation system will be more expansive than what it originally planned. The Elon Musk-founded company has just received approval from the city to bring its underground transportation system called the Vegas Loop to city limits. When Clark County Commissioners first approved the Vegas Loop, it was supposed to be a 29-mile tunnel network connecting 51 stations. Now, the network will span 34 miles and have a total of 55 stations, including ones that will serve the Harry Reid International Airport and the Allegiant Stadium.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Boring Co. President Steve Davis said tunneling in downtown Las Vegas could begin in 2023: “This is step two and there are eight steps for us to be opening. There’s a long way to go and a lot of work to do. But if I were to guess on the spot I would guess we’d have machines in (the ground) next calendar year.” According to the publication, the downtown stations include the Strat, Fremont Street Experience, the Slotzilla attraction, the Garage Mahal at the Circa Resort and the Plaza Hotel. Boring could add other stations in the future, as well, with each one costing anything in between $1.5 to $20 million to build. 

Davis also said a ride from Fremont Street Experience downtown to Reid International would cost about $12 and take around eight or nine minutes. Before Boring’s monorail system could shuttle people to and from downtown Las Vegas, though, it has to secure a bunch of permits and design approvals first. As The Verge notes, only 1.7 miles of the Vegas Loop are operational at the moment underneath the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). That said, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill said he expects more portions serving parts of the Resort Corridor to be operational sometime in 2023.

Samsung merges Pay and Pass into a single Wallet app

Samsung is making it easier to store your credit card information and other digital data on your phone. On Wednesday, the company announced the merging of its Pay and Pass apps into a single Wallet platform. With the change, you won’t have to use two d…

Amazon Prime Day kicks off July 12th this year

Amazon has officially announced the dates for its next annual shopping event. Prime Day 2022 will be on July 12th and 13th this year — the event will begin at 12AM PT/3AM ET on Tuesday, July 12th, and conclude at the end of the day on Wednesday, July 13th. As it has been for the past few years, Prime Day will actually be a two-day event during which Prime members can snag deals on everything from electronics to fashion to Amazon’s own devices.

The past two years saw Prime Day in different seasons, mostly due to COVID-19 repercussions. In 2020, Amazon had to delay Prime Day until October, and it rebounded a bit last year by having Prime Day in June. Now, it seems Amazon has returned to its roots by having its shopping event in July, the month in which most Prime Days past have been.

And if you didn’t already know, Amazon Prime Day brings exclusive deals for Prime subscribers. Not only is the shopping event a way for Amazon to produce a spike in sales, but it’s also a way for the company to encourage people to sign up for Prime. But that might be a harder sell this year than others since the company raised the price of Prime to $139 back in February.

If you do plan on putting that Prime membership to use next month, you can turn to Engadget to find the tech deals worth your month during the two-day event. Unsurprisingly, Amazon Prime Day is one of the best times of the year to get Amazon devices, since most of them will likely be down to all-time-low prices. But we also expect to see worthwhile sales on headphones, robot vacuums, laptops, SSDs and much more. You can also follow Engadget Deals on Twitter for the latest news during Prime Day, and sign up for the new Engadget Deals newsletter to get the best deals delivered right to your inbox.

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PS5 update adds a TikTok-like editor to its game clips editor

Sony unveiled a new quick editing mode for PS5’s Share Factory Studio today that will allow users to create shortform gameplay videos with pre-set, Tik-Tok-like formats. In a blog post, Sony explained the new editing feature — which it has deemed “Bits…

Facebook is planning a major redesign to help it compete with TikTok

Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives have made it clear for some time that competing with TikTok is their top priority. Now, we have additional details about how they plan to completely overhaul the Facebook app to accomplish that.The social netwo…

Disney+ will stream a live musical special from Epcot hosted by Idina Menzel

Disney+ is continuing its experiment with live events, this time with a special from one of its own theme parks. The platform will livestream Harmonious Live!, a musical special that will be hosted by Idina Menzel and performed at the Epcot theme park in Walt Disney World, reportedVariety. The live orchestra performance will feature a repertoire of songs from a number of classical Disney films, including Moana, Aladdin, Coco, The Lion King, Mulan and others.

The choice to air Harmonious Live! will no doubt please Disney fans of all ages, especially those who haven’t been back to a theme park in a while. After a nearly two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Disney resumed live entertainment at its theme parks again this year. And unlike live shows performed at the park, fans will be able to watch re-watch Harmonious Live! on the Disney+ platform at any time they like.

Disney+ subscribers can expect even more live offerings this year. The upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars will air on the platform, likely in September 2022. Meanwhile, Harmonious Live! will air on June 21 at 6 p.m. PT/9 ET in the US and Canada. You can watch a preview below.

In-person Apple Camp creative sessions return June 20th

In-person Apple Camp creative sessions for kids have been on hold for the past two years due to the pandemic, but Apple is bringing them back now that it’s safer to get together. The company will hold in-store sessions worldwide between June 20th and August 31st, and it’s launching a new, two-hour format built for families. Staff will lead a comic book creation activity where children between the ages of 8 and 12 use an iPad Pro to draw, take photos outside and otherwise tell a tale about protecting the environment.

There are still options if you’d rather stay at home. You can download an Apple Camp “Field Guide” with 20 iPad-oriented activities for kids, such as creating a podcast, designing a maze or using code to plan an Earth-saving tool.

Apple has been gradually easing back into pre-pandemic activities at its stores. It dropped mask requirements at many US stores in February, and resumed Today at Apple instructional classes in March. While some of the company’s corporate employees are still eager to work from home, it’s clear the retail team is ready to get back to (relative) normal.

Netflix and Mo’Nique settle lawsuit over alleged discrimination

Netflix has settled a lawsuit from comedian and actor Mo’Nique that accused the company of racial and gender bias. Both parties this week moved to dismiss the suit, which was filed in 2019. “The matter has been amicably resolved,” a representative for Mo’Nique told The Hollywood Reporter.

The two sides started talks over a comedy special in 2017, but Mo’Nique claimed the company low-balled her with an opening offer of $500,000 for a one-hour show to which Netflix would own the rights. The Oscar-winning performer called for a boycott of Netflix and said the offer was discriminatory, given the eight-figure deals some other comics (such as Chris Rock and Amy Schumer) reportedly received for their Netflix specials.

Netflix walked away from the discussions after Mo’Nique’s assertions. “Once Mo’Nique engaged in protected conduct by protesting the discriminatory offer, Netflix shut down any further negotiations and refused to negotiate in good-faith consistent with its standard practices,” the suit stated. Netflix argued there were no legal grounds to support the claim that a company declining to negotiate in good faith equates to discrimination or retaliation.

However, the judge presiding over the case determined in 2020 that Mo’Nique may have had a point. “Mo’Nique plausibly alleges that, after she spoke out and called her initial offer discriminatory, Netflix retaliated against her by shutting down its standard practice of negotiating in good faith that typically results in increased monetary compensation beyond the ‘opening offer’ and denying her increased compensation as a result,” Judge Andre Birotte Jr. wrote in a ruling that rejected an attempt by Netflix to dismiss the case.

Engadget has contacted Netflix for comment.

Facebook’s advertising tools are tracking people seeking abortion services, report says

Facebook is collecting data about people who visit the websites of pregnancy crisis centers, according to a report from Reveal. The findings raise questions about how that data could be misused, and Meta’s ability to enforce its advertising rules.

In an investigation conducted with The Markup, Reveal found that hundreds of crisis pregnancy centers were using the Meta Pixel on their websites. The Meta Pixel allows companies to keep tabs on who visits their websites so they can create targeted ads on Facebook. As the report notes, so-called crisis pregnancy centers typically aren’t licensed medical establishments and are not bound by HIPAA and other privacy regulations. Instead, they are “mostly run by religiously aligned organizations whose mission is to persuade people to choose an option other than abortion.” 

Under Meta’s rules, the Meta Pixel is supposed to filter out “sensitive” health data, like much of what Reveal found was being collected. “In many cases, the information was extremely sensitive – for example, whether a person was considering abortion or looking to get a pregnancy test or emergency contraceptives,” Reveal reports. In some cases, the social network also received data about specific appointments that were requested. The report also found that third-party anti-abortion marketing companies were able to gain access to data collected by the Meta Pixel, even though their websites had not been visited.

In a statement provided to Reveal, Meta said that “It is against our policies for websites and apps to send sensitive information about people through our Business Tools,” referring to the Meta Pixel. “Our system is designed to filter out potentially sensitive data it detects, and we work to educate advertisers on how to properly set up our Business Tools.”

The issue of online platforms collecting data from people seeking abortion services has taken on a new urgency in recent weeks following a leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade. Privacy advocates have warned that the information could be used to prosecute people seeking abortions in areas where it’s been outlawed. Lawmakers have also raised concerns about the issue, calling on Apple, Google and other platforms to bar apps that collect data targeting people seeking abortion services.